Gigawatt-hour battery plan edges closer to construction as Swiss giant takes full ownership of site

Plans to build a big battery with one gigawatt-hour of energy storage capacity in north-western New South Wales have taken a major step forward this week, with Swiss storage giant Energy Vault completing its purchase of the project site and setting a tentative start-date for construction.

Energy Vault in late 2024 signed a deal with Australian developer Enervest to deploy the 125 megawatt (MW) and up to 1,000 megawatt-hour (MWh) Stoney Creek battery energy storage system (BESS) in Narrabri, the two companies joining forces to finalise development, grid approvals and financial close.

The Stoney Creek BESS was, at the time, one of 17 grid-scale battery projects Enervest had in its development pipeline, ranging in size from 40MW to 800MW and spread across four states, including NSW, South Australia, Victoria and Queensland.

The deal in 2024 signed up Energy Vault as the turn-key partner for the project, bringing its engineering, procurement, construction, and long-term maintenance services. The BESS will use the Swiss company’s X-Vault integration platform, B-Vault product, and Vault-OS Energy Management System.

Energy Vault said this week it now officially owns the Stoney Creek BESS project site, following receipt of the required Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval – a milestone that secures long-term site control and further de-risks the project as it “advances toward construction.”

The company says construction of the battery is expected to start in early 2027, with commercial operations targeted for the first half of 2028, subject to final approvals. The BESS is underpinned by a 14-year Long-Term Energy Service Agreement (LTESA) awarded via the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap.

“Completing the acquisition of the Stoney Creek project site is another important execution milestone as we advance this asset toward construction and commercial operation,” said Akshay Ladwa, the chief development and operations officer at Energy Vault.

“With long-term site ownership secured and a 14-year LTESA in place, Stoney Creek represents the type of high-quality infrastructure asset at the core of our Build, Own & Operate strategy – combining contracted revenue visibility with long-duration asset ownership and the potential to generate durable recurring cash flows.”

Marco Terruzzin, Energy Vault’s chief revenue officer says Australia remains a strategic growth market for the company, and Stoney Creek its first proof point.

“[This BESS] demonstrates our ability to move large-scale projects systematically through development and into construction,” Terruzzin said in a statement on Friday.

“We remain focused on disciplined execution as we scale a global portfolio of owned energy infrastructure assets designed to deliver predictable, long-term value for our shareholders.”

The site for the Stoney Creek BESS was “carefully selected” by Enervest to occupy a “relatively compact footprint” on the northeastern outskirts of Narrabri township, set back from the site boundary, minimising visual impacts to surrounding areas and the local community,” the project site says.

The big battery will connect to the existing electricity grid via a short overhead or underground cable to Transgrid’s Narrabri substation, adjacent to the proposed development.

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